The Beginning
by girlnheadphones
Summary: my version of the beginning to the 7th book.
1. Chapter 1 The Beginning

7th HP Book - The Beginning

It was twilight as Harry walked almost mechanically along Wisteria Walk, his head was buzzing; was he truly about to leave Privet Drive forever? When Dumbledore picked him up from this same place just last year, he had said Harry would only come back to retrive his belongings then leave and never return. The thought of Dumbledore brought a burning sensation to his eyes and Harry struggled to fight back tears. It had been just two short weeks since Dumbledore's funeral. Tonks and Lupin were around somewhere, they were instructed to give Harry his privacy, but Harry did not wish for them to catch him crying again. First his parents, then Sirius and now Dumbledore? He had never felt so hopeless in his life. Voldemort would just continue to pick off everyone that he held dear until there was no one left.

Harry's eyes locked on the door to the home he had loathed as far back as he could remember, but this time, it looked different somehow. Could he really be sad that he was finally leaving Privet Drive? Harry waved these thoughts away like flies, he must just still be upset about Dumbledore. Harry rose his hand tentitavely to knock on the door, took a deep breath, and knocked. There was bustling around to be heard inside the house and finally the lock clicked and the door opened the tiniest crack. Aunt Petunia's horse-like face appear through it, she looked Harry up and down and finally, silently, let him in. The house was depressing. The windows, which looked normal with curtains drawn on the outside, were boarded up, the door had about eight shiny new locks on it, and the once blindingly clean kitchen looked as though it was in desperate need of attention.

Uncle Vernon, eyes locked on Harry, said quietly "What are you doing here boy?", Harry started to explain but Uncle Vernon cut him off. "We waited for you like usual at that train station and you never came." Harry took this moment to truly take in his uncle's appearence. Uncle Vernon had lost weight, his moustache was now a depressing, wilted, grey reflection of it's former self, his suit was wrinkled and broken in, quite unlike the crisp fresh-from-the-cleaners look he usually wore. "Well?" said Uncle Vernon, eyes instintively darting around at all the windows and doors, as if expecting to be attacked from all sides. "School let out early this year," Harry explained, and, deciding not to waste any more time, he added "I've come to get my things and...and then I'm off to live with my friend Ron's family." Uncle Vernon didn't ask anything more, just stared at him as though he were asleep, with his eyes open. Aunt Petunia, however, who Harry had almost forgotten was also in the room, said so quietly Harry barely heard her "Is..has he...is Voldemort killing again?" Harry turned to face his Aunt, and for the first time in his life, truly felt pity for her. She looked terrified, pale, and whispy. Harry walked toward her slowly, and very awkwardly, embraced him Aunt for the first time in his life. Aunt Petunia clung to him as though he was her last hope in the world. Harry said "Yes Aunt Petunia, he is." She started sobbing on his sholder, and Uncle Vernon walked over slowly and took her from Harry.

Feeling very out-of-place, Harry decided to leave them together and go upstairs to pack up the few things he didn't bring with him to Hogwarts, his trunk and Hedwig's cage had already been taken to The Burrow. He found his bedroom, not untouched as it usually was whenever he returned, but a complete mess. It was exactly clean and tidy when he left it, but the room looked as though it had been hit by a tornado, books, bed sheets and parchment thrown all over, drawers emptied and the entire closet contents on the floor. Harry's first thought was that a death-eater had been here, but then he realized, it must have been Aunt Petunia, desperate to know how to guard herself, and her family, against Voldemort. Harry simply picked up a bag from the debris and began to root through it, finding what he needed. He picked up the loose floorboard and was releived to see that it had remained untouched, there were a few daily prophets, some quills, and old textbooks still there that he tossed into the bag. With one last quick glance around the room that had been his home for the past four years, he walked back into the living room.

Dudley was sitting on the sofa, he had lost weight too, sitting and staring at television screen. His eyes wandered slowly to Harry, then back to the television, he said dully "you're leaving then? never coming back?" "yes." and Dudley, spoiled, pampered, bullying Dudley then said "Harry, I'm sorry." and Harry didn't need an explanation, he understood perfectly, "thanks" he said softly, and walked back into the kitchen. Aunt Petunia had a small glass of brandy in front of her and Uncle Vernon was watching the news. They both stared at him as he walked in, then went back to their own activites. Harry took a deep breath and said "Well, er, bye then", Uncle Vernon nodded and Aunt Petunia gave him an odd look that might, to Aunt Petunia, have been a smile. Then, turning around slowly, Harry opened the door, and left Privet Drive.


	2. Chapter 2 To The Burrow

7th HP Book - To The Burrow

As Harry walked back down Privet Drive, he looked around for Tonks and Lupin. They were suppose to be waiting for him, under an invisability cloak, outside. Squinting into the night, he looked for any sign of movement, waiting for them to be revealed. His eyes locked on the privacy fence of Number 13, He had seen a flash of bright pink hair. Jogging to the fence, he whispered "Tonks?" and he gave a swipe to where he thought she was, felt a cloak, and pulled it off. Lupin and Tonks jumped away from each other, Lupin with a liberal amount of bright pink lipstick on his face, Tonks grinning sheepishly at Harry "Wotcher?" "Hey Tonks." Lupin, who looked like he was trying to gain credibility, said to Harry "Well, er, we'll be apperating back to The Burrow, so, if you'll just hold my arm Harry." Harry held his bag firmly in one hand, and Lupin's arm in the other, and felt a great swoop in his stomach.

Harry stared at the overgrown lawn that was The Burrow and felt at ease. As Tonks, Lupin and Harry walked up to the door, Lupin said to Harry in an embarrased tone "Harry, if you wouldn't mind, please do not mention to Molly that Nymphadora and Myself were...well, it's not that-" Harry cut him off "It's alright Proffessor, just, you might want to clean yourself up a bit." Tonks used the cuff of her robes to wipe the lipstick off Lupin's face as they reached the door. Tonks and Lupin knocked tentatively, there was the sound of light footsteps and Harry heard Ginny's voice say "Password?" and Lupin replied "Witherwings."

As Harry walked in, he saw no one else sitting in the kitchen, but was seized by Ginny before he could bother asking where everyone else was. Ginny turned Harry around, put her arms around him, and kissed him so feircly that Harry felt he might fall over. He had forgotten that Tonks and Lupin were still in the kitchen, and when he emerged, Tonks was grinning at him and Lupin had dissappeared behind a week-old issue of the Daily Prophet, upside down. "Hey Ginny" Harry said, somewhat lamely. Ginny looked Harry over and said "Fancy some tea? Mum's just made some, Ron's upstairs, we can make a tray."

Walking upstairs with Ginny, who was carrying the tea tray, he said "You know Ginny, I meant it when I said we can't be together. I don't want you getting hurt, Voldemorts taking away everyone that means something to me and--" "So ditch Ron and Hermione then." Ginny said stubbornly. "What?" said Harry, completely nonplussed. "You heard me, if you want to protect people you care about from Voldemort, ditch Ron and Hermione." "That's different" Harry argued "They're..well, they..look, I just don't want you getting hurt." Ginny calmly shook her head and said "I can take care of myself, if you can risk Ron and Hermione, you can risk me." Harry decided not to argue with this anymore just now, as they had reached the door to Ron's bedroom.

Ron was laying on the floor, writing a letter as they walked in. "Harry, hi!" Ron said cheerfully, sitting up to talk. "Who're you writing?" Harry asked, interestedly. "Hermione. The plan for the summer was for everyone to get to Grimmauld Place as soon as school let out, but, well, can't really go there anymore." Harry noticed an amusing doodle of Snape on a peice of parchment, spellotaped to the wall, with several darts sticking out of it. "Git" Ginny said angrily. Harry could not describe how much he wanted Snape dead at this moment. Harry felt he could do it himself, he wanted to hurt Snape, to torture him into a thousand greasy peices, but he said didn't say that. "So, when's Hermione getting here then?" Harry asked idley, noticing that Ron's letter had several blotches and crossings-out. "No idea" said Ron, Harry noticed the bitter edge in his voice, "Her parents wanted to spend some time with her, she said." "Which makes perfect sense. She's been here or at school for nearly an entire year" Ginny said in a you're-being-selfish way. Harry decided not to comment on this, and instead poured himself some tea while he listened to Ginny and Ron bicker. Ginny was very, very pretty. Harry never really noticed it before, she had always just been Ron's-little-sister, but she was very pretty. Her hair hung long and straight, perfectly smooth and framing her face. She had a button nose and a creamy complexion interupted only by a few cute freckles. It was about a minute before he realised Ron was talking to him. "Sorry, what?" Harry said quickly, Ginny smirked at him. "Do you fancy a bit of quidditch out back? Mom said Fred and George just got here." Ron said slowly and clearly. "Er, yeah, but isn't it a bit late?" Harry remarked, looking at a clock which read half-past-midnight. "Well, let's just play a short one, I've got to do something, if I stay locked up inside much longer I'll go spare."

So, after a particularly violent game of quidditch (Ron hadn't been allowed to leave the safety of the house since school let out), they went back inside and settled in Fred and George's bedroom.

"So," Fred passed around a bottle of butterbear "we hear that you've been snogging our sister."

"What?" Harry said quickly, debating whether to deny it or not (Fred and George had been known to be violent when it came to their sister's boyfriends)

"Yup, Ginny didn't say anything at first, but we suspected something and read a bit of her diary." George said,

"Only Ginny caught us and had Mum put an binding charm on it so only Ginny can get in it" Fred remarked.

"But, we read enough to know you two had some times back at Hogwarts." George finished.

"Well, er, yeah. but I've ended it. With Voldemort after me, attacking people I care about, I don't want him after Ginny." Harry said tentatively, trying to read Fred and George's expressions.

"See, she wrote about that, said you were on some noble-hero-trip and that she'd have to try to talk some sense into you when she saw you next and--" Fred was interupted by Ginny opening the door.

"Mum says to get to bed because it's late and she wants to have a proper breakfast tommorow because several people from the Order are coming over." Ginny said "Harry, we've set up Percy's old room for you if you want me to show you where it is."

"Oh, I know where it--" Harry started, but Ginny cut him off with a meaningful stare. "Er, I mean, yeah, thanks." He rose and followed Ginny through the door and down the hallway, when they reached Percy's door, she led him in and said "There's the bed, there's the dresser, it's all cleaned out so you can put your stuff in there, your trunk is in the corner and I'm right here." she turned to face him, her face barely an inch away from his, Harry said "Listen, Ginny I--" "Harry." she interrupted, "Voldemort's off doing something somewhere else, no one's here but us." So, despite his better judgement, Harry's lips found Ginny's and stayed there for quite some time, finally, upon hearing footsteps, Ginny broke away and said loudly "And that's about it, Harry, if you need anything, Mum's downstairs!" and hurried out.


End file.
